Nicki Minaj Claps Back at Critics of Her Relationship: 'Money Cannot Buy Me Happiness and Good Sex'

In a new episode of her Queen Radio podcast, the rapper clapped back at critics of her relationship with controversial boyfriend Kenneth “Zoo” Petty.

“When a person is with a n—- that loved them before they had a dime in their pocket? How do you not understand that? How do you not understand happiness vs clout?” Minaj said on the episode, according to E! News.

“How f—ing dare you talk about lowering standards,” she added, before telling haters to “wake up” and realize that love should not be based on materialistic desires and circumstances.

Last week, the 36-year-old hitmaker left fans speculating that she is engaged and expecting a baby with Petty, after hearing her verse on Chance the Rapper’s reggae-tinged song “Zanies and Fools.”

“He the Clyde to my Bonnie, ’bout to walk down the aisle and be a mommy,” raps Minaj on the track, which dropped Friday. “Ooh, I remember when I cried like, ‘Why me?’ / Now I wouldn’t exchange my life for Armani.”

The “Megatron” rapper also paired those lyrics with a photo of her and Petty posted on Thursday prior to the song’s release.

A rep for Minaj did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.

Nicki Minaj/ Instagram

Though Minaj and Petty only became Instagram official in December, the rapper clarifies that she met her boyfriend before her fame.

“I met my husband when I was 17 out in Queens / If you love it, let it go, now I know what that means / While he was up North for a body / I bodied everybody and got known for my body,” she raps.

Minaj and Petty first dated when she was 16 years old and living in Queens, New York City, according to TMZ, which also reported that Minaj has referred to him as “one of her first loves” and is “confident he’s matured” over the years.

“We did get our marriage license,” Minaj said on her Apple Beats 1 show. “I think I have what I was striving for, just happiness. It was so hard to get to a happy place. Now that I’m there, I don’t want to compromise that for anyone or anything.”

According to New York Division of Criminal Justice Services records, Petty was convicted in April 1995 of attempted rape in the first degree for a September 1994 incident involving a 16-year-old. He was sentenced to 18 to 54 months in prison, but it is unclear how much time he actually served.

Addressing her boyfriend’s past, Minaj responded to a fan in the comments section on Instagram, writing, “He was 15, she was 16 … in a relationship. But go awf Internet. Y’all can’t run my life. Y’all can’t even run y’all own life. Thank you boo.”

According to the outlet, Petty pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge in March 2006 and served seven years in prison after being sentenced to 10. Petty was released in May 2013, and had been on supervised release until May 2019, according to records accessed by PEOPLE.